Junior Dillon Starzl poured in 20 points to lead Northwest Missouri State to a 55-38 victory over Rockhurst Friday night in non-conference men’s basketball action at the 21st Annual Hillyard Tipoff Classic.

Starzl hit a jumper at the 3:37 mark of the first half to pull the Bearcats even at 19-19 in a back-and-forth first half. The junior would extend the Bearcat lead after hitting a pair of free throws as Northwest took a 21-19 lead in the break.

Northwest (2-0) continued to find success inside as they outscored the Hawks 26-14 in the paint. The Bearcat defense was again in full force as they pressed the Hawks into 16 turnovers and held them to just 14-of-47 shooting on the night.

Alex Sullivan continued his hot start draining back-to-back three-pointers to open the second half and sparking Northwest to an early 10 point lead. Sullivan finished with eight points in the win.

The Bearcats would pull away when DeAngelo Hailey hit his third trey of the night with 7:51 left in the game, putting Northwest up 46-32. Northwest would score 10 of the game’s final 15 points to close out the win. Hailey finished the night with nine points.

Northwest finished the night 5-of-9 from behind the three-point line with all five coming in the second half.

The Bearcats close out the Hillyard Classic Saturday night as they take on William Jewell at 5:30 p.m. Last year Northwest took a 49-37 win against the Cardinals at the Classic.

— NWMSU Sports Information —